Bowen's big day lifts Lehigh Township

His 4-for-4 helps give the Brewers a 2-0 lead in the Tri-Co series.


By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call

 

Playing in two baseball playoff games on fields about 20 miles and 35 minutes apart may seem like a lot of work.

But to Nick Bowen, it's just a lot of fun.

Bowen played and pitched in Martins Creek's Blue Mountain League playoff win over Starter's Pub Saturday afternoon at Martins Creek and then hopped in a car and roared down Route 22 to the Lehigh County Sports complex near Dorney Park for a Tri-County playoff game.

Lehigh Township was glad the Route 22 traffic wasn't too bad as Bowen arrived in time to go 4-for-4 with a double, triple, three runs scored and five RBIs in the Brewers' 14-5 rout of Cetronia.

Lehigh Township, defending Tri-Co champ, leads the best-of-five series 2-0 and can secure a return trip to the finals at 5 tonight at Northampton High School.

Bowen's day will start earlier at Egypt as Martins Creek plays Game 5 of a BML semifinal series. At least the drive from Egypt to Northampton is much shorter than Saturday's trek from from Martins Creek to Cetronia.

But Bowen is hoping for the same results he got Saturday — two wins.

''It was a long day and at the end of it, you feel tired,'' Bowen, a 23-year-old Allen High grad, said. ''But I'd rather be here playing than sitting at home. It's great to be in the playoffs in both leagues. It means a lot to compete for two championships. We got one here at Lehigh Township last year and I'd like to get one at Martins Creek, too. It's fun. It's a good time.''

Bowen is not the only Creeker/Brewer with a hectic schedule this weekend. Eric Schmitt and Joe Bubba also doubled their pleasure Saturday and hope for more today.

Schmitt homered for the Creek and took the hot bat with him to Cetronia, collecting two hits and scoring twice.

Lehigh Township manager Shawn Andrews would prefer that all of his players get rest and show up on time for today's Tri-Co game, but knows it's a plus for his team to have guys like Bowen and Schmitt around when they can make it.

''When everybody's here, it's real tough to fill out that lineup card because we have a lot of talent,'' Andrews said. ''When you can put a Nick Bowen in the No. 9 hole, you've got to feel confident about your lineup.''

The Brewers (31-7) seem to have their swagger back after losing a one-game playoff to ICC for top seed entering the postseason. Since that defeat, L.T. has won four straight.

But Andrews said it was a tense Game 1 of the opening-round series against Coplay that awakened his club.

''We got down <4-0 and 6-4> and had to fight back in the last two innings <7-6> and it showed us that we weren't going to coast through this,'' Andrews said. ''There are a lot of good teams in this league.''

An eight-run fifth inning allowed L.T. to coast Saturday. The Brewers benefited from two errors and two walks. Bowen's bases-loaded triple was the key blow. He added a two-run double in the sixth.

Meanwhile, Brewers' pitcher Brian Boylan breezed along with a three-hit shutout through five innings before hitting a rough patch in the sixth. A letdown was not a shock with the score 14-0.

''We had a long inning at bat and everybody sort of fell asleep,'' Andrews said. ''Our guys coasted through the last two innings, which I didn't like, but it was a long day.''

It was a bit longer for Cetronia (22-15). The Longhorns reached the semis via a surprising series win over Gabelsville, but now have to win three straight in this one.

''It's a five-game series and anything can happen,'' Cetronia manager George Horn said. ''We're a young team and this is experience for them.''


Lehigh Township   002 084 0 — 14 14 0

Cetronia                 000 004 1 —  5  9  3


Boylan and Acosta; Hurley, Butala (6) and Kensecki. L: Hurley.



keith.groller@mcall.com

610-820-6740

From The Morning Call -- August 8, 2004

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